Saturday, October 27, 2012

Jairus and the Bleeding Woman: Homily for the 21st Sunday After Pentecost in the Orthodox Church

Luke 8:41-56

Sometimes we think that everyone has to approach
God in exactly the same way. After all,
we are Orthodox Christians. The Divine
Liturgy and other services are set; they don’t change and are celebrated in by
the Orthodox around the world. Our
beliefs were defined through ancient councils.
Our spiritual practices have been passed down over the centuries by
countless generations. The Holy Spirit
has preserved our church in a unity that is unique among Christians. But that unity doesn’t mean complete uniformity
in the sense that we all must or should do exactly the same thing. We are all distinct, free persons; and it’s
as such that we will find God’s blessing and salvation in our lives.

We
read in today’s gospel passage about two very different people who approached
Jesus Christ in different ways. One was Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue. He was an upstanding man in the Jewish
community. His position indicates that
he had a good reputation and was thought to be a righteous man. The other person was very different. She was a woman who had been bleeding for
twelve years, and had spent all her money on treatments that did not work. Not only was she now poor, she was also
considered unclean because of the flow of blood. She was isolated: anyone who had physical contact with her
would also become unclean. She could not
even enter the Temple or have a normal social life. She had been treated for twelve years as
though we she was cut off from God and everyone else.

Jairus
sought out the Lord and asked Him to heal his daughter, who was dying. But the woman—whose name we do not know—could
not bring herself to do even that. She
knew her place: a poor, isolated, unclean woman not worthy of the attention of
the Messiah. She couldn’t ask Him to lay
hands on her for healing, for that would make Him unclean also. She was surely embarrassed to discuss her
medical condition with Him in the midst of a large crowd. All that she could find the courage to do was
to reach out anonymously and touch the hem of His clothing. She had enough faith, enough hope, and enough
courage to do that.

And
when she did, she was healed. She had
not made Him unclean; instead, He had made her well. But she was scared to death when Jesus Christ
asked, “Who touched me?” She knelt down
before the Lord in humility, and trembling with fear, confessed to Him-- and to
the rest of the crowd—that she was the one.
Yes, she said out loud why she had touched Him and how she was healed
immediately. And then the Lord said,
“Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”

This
story shows the tremendous mercy of our Lord.
This woman had not said a word to Christ and had not even identified
herself to Him. She didn’t ask Him to
make a decision to help her. She was
probably too afraid and humble to do those things. But she did what she could,
reaching out to Christ in faith. The Son
of God knew who had touched Him, of course, but asked who it was in order to
give her an opportunity to confess her faith, to make clear to herself and to
those in the crowd that our Lord’s healing mercy extended even to her, that His
mercy overcomes all the uncleanness and misery of those who come to Him in
humble repentance.

At
different times in our lives, we will all identify this woman. Perhaps we have a long-term struggle, a
weakness or cross that we have borne for years.
Perhaps we wrestle with some deep embarrassment or humiliation in our
lives that we are afraid to acknowledge even to God, let alone other people. Maybe we have done or suffered something that
makes us feel unclean or unworthy in our relationship. Maybe we can’t find the words to express our
pain even to God in prayer, much less to others. We may feel cut off from the Lord and separated
from family and friends.

If
that’s the case, we should follow this woman’s example of touching the hem of
His garment, of reaching out to Christ for mercy, healing, strength, and
forgiveness as best we can. He will not
embarrass us or send us away. Instead, He
will respond graciously, as He always did to humble, sincere people who came to
Him with faith, love, and repentance. We won’t make Him unclean; instead, He will make
us His beloved sons and daughters.

Jairus
approached Jesus Christ differently, openly asking Him to heal his dying daughter. But his faith is then put to a very hard
test. For the girl dies, but the Lord
says that she is only sleeping. Everyone
ridicules the Savior for this. But Jairus
somehow believed the astonishing word of the Lord: “Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will
be made well.”

Can
you imagine how hard it must have been for Jairus and his wife to hear this
news and to believe in the Lord’s promise?
Their daughter had just died and the mourning had begun. It was time to start getting ready for the
funeral, and here was Christ saying that the girl would soon be alive
again. Their faith was put to the test,
but they did believe. And the Lord did
as He said: He gave them back their
daughter alive and healthy.

This
healing was not as simple as Jairus had hoped.
He was probably used to getting what he wanted. Surely if anyone deserved the help of the
Messiah, it was an upstanding leader of the synagogue. But just as Abraham’s faith was tested by the
command to sacrifice Isaac, his faith is tested when—to all appearances—his
daughter is dead and gone. It is one
thing to heal the sick, but quite another to believe that someone can raise the
dead. But probably with a great deal of
fear and all kinds of doubts going through his head, Jairus believes. He
trusts as best he can. And through his
faith, the Lord works a great miracle.

People
are different. We have distinct
personalities, occupations, interests, and spiritual strengths and
weaknesses. But we can all have
faith. When we open the wounds and
sorrows of our lives to Christ as best we can, He will hear us. And He will respond in the way that is best
for our salvation, for our growth in holiness.
No two people have exactly the same journey to the Kingdom. No two people pray, fast, give alms, forgive, and serve in precisely the same
way. Jairus and the woman with the flow
of blood were very different people who approached Christ differently. But the one constant factor is the mercy of
our Lord, which extends to all who call upon Him from their hearts with humble
trust.

If
you are prepared to receive Communion today, I urge you to approach the chalice
with “the fear of God and faith and love.”
For we do not simply touch the hem of Christ’s clothing in the Eucharist
or ask him to heal our sick child. We do
far more, for we eat His flesh and drink His blood. We commune in the most intimate way possible
with the One Who has conquered sin and death.
And we do so praying that Jesus Christ will heal the deepest wounds of
our souls and make us participants in the eternal life of the Kingdom. We receive Communion by name, as unique
individuals whose only hope is in our Lord.
Jairus and the woman came to Him in faith as best they could. We should do the same.

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Fr. Philip has addressed audiences at St. Herman Orthodox Theological Seminary in Kodiak, AK, and St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Seminary, NY. He has also earned lots of frequent flyer miles as an invited participant in international Orthodox consultations on social ethics in Greece, Romania, and Syria.

He often introduces visiting groups of students from local universities to the Orthodox faith. He has also spoken about Eastern Christianity at Methodist, Episcopal, and Church of Christ congregations in Abilene. You may listen to his podcasts on www.ancientfaithradio.org. He has also been interviewed on “Come Receive the Light,” an internationally syndicated radio program of the Orthodox Christian Network (www.myocn.net). Anyone wanting to invite him to speak may send an email to: plemasters@mcm.edu.